Singh Says Rail Back-to-Work Legislation Would Break Deal With Liberals

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh asks a question during question period in the House of Commons in Ottawa on June 18, 2024. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said he would not support the federal government implementing back-to-work legislation to bring an end to the railway strike, even if it were a confidence vote that would break the party’s supply and confidence agreement with the Liberals over the issue.

“If it’s a confidence vote, that’s breaking the agreement. We always have the right to withdraw our support from the agreement, and that remains our position. We can always pull away. We can always break it,” Singh told reporters on Aug. 22.

Singh’s comments came hours before the federal government announced it would intervene in the railway labour dispute to force arbitration. Federal Labour Minister Steve MacKinnon said he was invoking Section 107 of the Labour Code to direct the Canada Industrial Relations Board to impose final binding arbitration.

In a press release on Aug. 22, Singh condemned the federal government’s intervention in the labour dispute as “anti-worker,” saying it sends a bad message.

“Justin Trudeau has just sent a message to CN, CPKC and all big corporations—being a bad boss pays off,” he said.

As the deadline for negotiations approached, the Liberal government had indicated it was in favour of the two sides coming to a negotiated resolution. “Millions of Canadian workers, farmers, and businesses right across the country are counting on both sides to do the work and get to a resolution,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Aug. 21.

In a press conference on Aug. 22, Minister MacKinnon said the government had to intervene as the shutdown is impacting millions of Canadians.